Just finished Manhunt:Unabomber on Netflix and really enjoyed it, Without giving too much away, they caught him with the help of linguistics. I never knew the origin of the phrase "To have your cake and eat it".....

Just finished Manhunt:Unabomber on Netflix and really enjoyed it, Without giving too much away, they caught him with the help of linguistics. I never knew the origin of the phrase "To have your cake and eat it".....

Very good.
The acting from the main characters was excellent.
I also recommend the Waco miniseries which I watched around the same time.
Both cases are linked in a way

A Very English Scandal. Just outstanding in every way - writing, acting, direction, all superb. And for those of us old enough to remember the Thorpe trial and the sensation it caused, the blackly farcical tone is spot-on.

Just seen the first episode, and surely I can't be the only one thinking "Just sort out his National Insurance card!"

Also, it's on the iPlayer as series 1. Am I to assume that there will be further series of this?

A Very English Scandal. Just outstanding in every way - writing, acting, direction, all superb. And for those of us old enough to remember the Thorpe trial and the sensation it caused, the blackly farcical tone is spot-on.

Just seen the first episode, and surely I can't be the only one thinking "Just sort out his National Insurance card!"

Also, it's on the iPlayer as series 1. Am I to assume that there will be further series of this?

Not with the same protagonists but I'm sure there are other ' very English scandals ' the makers could choose

I watched the first two episodes of the new series of Flowers last night. I enjoyed the first series, but did not enjoy these. Maybe I would have benefited from rewatching the first series because I couldn't remember exactly what went on, but I found it incoherent and disjointed. Just rubbish basically. I'll see it through anyway, but I'm not expecting wonders.

The Haunting (1963) scared the bejeezus out of me when I first saw it, aged 11. It scared me again when I saw it for a second time,7 years later.

This series stays loyal to the original film, and adds a few more layers too. I'm on episode 5 of 10, and enjoying it, but tempted to leave the light on. They haven't even found the key to the nursery yet!

The Haunting (1963) scared the bejeezus out of me when I first saw it, aged 11. It scared me again when I saw it for a second time,7 years later.

This series stays loyal to the original film, and adds a few more layers too. I'm on episode 5 of 10, and enjoying it, but tempted to leave the light on. They haven't even found the key to the nursery yet!

Shit, I missed it.
My favourite British made anthology series, too (Black Mirror is less British nowadays ).
My favourite Inside No 9 has always been 12 Days of Christine.
I will watch it later today and will answer your question

So, the big question about tonight's special "live" episode of Inside No. 9... Was it actually live?

Dunno, but it was awesome regardless!

It was. I'd predicted that they would pull a stunt like that and yet I was still fooled when I was watching it. I feel sorry for anyone watching it on catch-up as they won't have that element of surprise.

So, the big question about tonight's special "live" episode of Inside No. 9... Was it actually live?

Dunno, but it was awesome regardless!

It was. I'd predicted that they would pull a stunt like that and yet I was still fooled when I was watching it. I feel sorry for anyone watching it on catch-up as they won't have that element of surprise.

I binge watched The Cry over the weekend.
Very well made, I got a little irritated by the flash back and flash forward scenes but the pay off was worth it.
I'm not sure I would have stuck with it if I had to wait a week.

I've now checked out Sunday's BBC1 10 O'Clock News on iPlayer (so you don't have to), and the TV in Reece and Steve's dressing room was indeed showing what was on BBC1 at that time, so unless they employed some real-time technical wizardry to superimpose the live news footage onto a pre-recorded scene, that bit at least was genuinely live.

I've now checked out Sunday's BBC1 10 O'Clock News on iPlayer (so you don't have to), and the TV in Reece and Steve's dressing room was indeed showing what was on BBC1 at that time, so unless they employed some real-time technical wizardry to superimpose the live news footage onto a pre-recorded scene, that bit at least was genuinely live.

I think I read somewhere it was recorded at Maidstone studio and it implies it was , indeed , live

No need, I already know the answer. The fact that it's available on catch-up at all means the twist doesn't work. Should still be an enjoyable watch though.

Completely forgot about it until I saw it mentioned in this thread. Quickly noped out for the avoidance of spoilers but yes, you're right, it is spoiled a bit by watching on catchup.

Don't think any of it was live. But it was very good.

I watched it on the iPlayer too. And to be honest I didn't think it was very good. I mean, I can understand that there might have been some people who thought they were genuinely showing that episode from the first series but then when it suddenly went "weird", that was it. Nothing surprising happened after that and unless I'm missing something there was no twist.

And even when the dialogue sound "failed" at one point, the mood music didn't so that made it less convincing. And although I can understand that one might fail and not the other, it's not the best way to convince a sceptical audience.

And I can't see how watching it live would have made any real difference.

Edit - And just to be clear, I don't think a single regular viewer of Inside No 9, or indeed anyone who isn't a lunatic of some sort, would have thought that anything actually weird or magical was really happening at any point, and without that we're not left with much.

No need, I already know the answer. The fact that it's available on catch-up at all means the twist doesn't work. Should still be an enjoyable watch though.

Completely forgot about it until I saw it mentioned in this thread. Quickly noped out for the avoidance of spoilers but yes, you're right, it is spoiled a bit by watching on catchup.

Don't think any of it was live. But it was very good.

I watched it on the iPlayer too. And to be honest I didn't think it was very good. I mean, I can understand that there might have been some people who thought they were genuinely showing that episode from the first series but then when it suddenly went "weird", that was it. Nothing surprising happened after that and unless I'm missing something there was no twist.

And even when the dialogue sound "failed" at one point, the mood music didn't so that made it less convincing. And although I can understand that one might fail and not the other, it's not the best way to convince a sceptical audience.

And I can't see how watching it live would have made any real difference.

Edit - And just to be clear, I don't think a single regular viewer of Inside No 9, or indeed anyone who isn't a lunatic of some sort, would have thought that anything actually weird or magical was really happening at any point, and without that we're not left with much.

A lot of people turned off when the gremlins happened so some people believed it was real.
You generally have to suspend belief when watching a horror film/program.
If you analyse it you ain't enjoying it.
I mean how can a go pro camera suddenly be broadcast.

I enjoyed it Fwiw but was a bit peeved that the live episode cut out as I was enjoying it

I feel sorry for anyone watching it on catch-up as they won't have that element of surprise.

I will let you know

No need, I already know the answer. The fact that it's available on catch-up at all means the twist doesn't work. Should still be an enjoyable watch though.

I did enjoy it, it was cleverly done and brave, answering tweets during the recording, truly made this event TV, although a fifth of the viewed did switch off during the first sound glitches.
Shearsmith and Pemberton, are truly a cut above anyone else in TV, making comic horror.
I would love to see them make a film.
Either an Original one , or maybe remake an old Vincent Price film.

A lot of people turned off when the gremlins happened so some people believed it was real.
You generally have to suspend belief when watching a horror film/program.
If you analyse it you ain't enjoying it.
I mean how can a go pro camera suddenly be broadcast.

I enjoyed it Fwiw but was a bit peeved that the live episode cut out as I was enjoying it

I can quite believe that some people thought the initial sound problems were real but as soon as the series 1 episode derailed, no-one would have believed that anything after that point was real.

In any case, it's not just about suspending disbelief. I've enjoyed many previous episodes of this and some have had clever twists. But this episode was basically just incoherent noise from the derailing of the series 1 episode onwards. It was just silly and there was nothing there to "believe" anyway.

If you analyse it you ain't enjoying it.
I mean how can a go pro camera suddenly be broadcast.

Because the plot suggested that what we were seeing were not supposed to be random technical glitches - the "ghosts in the machine" were controlling what was being shown. It's also plausible to assume that Reece's GoPro was intended to be used for POV footage at some point during the story-within-the-story and was therefore equipped for transmission (which it clearly was in the real world).

I can understand that there might have been some people who thought they were genuinely showing that episode from the first series but then when it suddenly went "weird", that was it.

But that was over ten minutes in, by which time apparently a fifth of viewers had switched off.

Gavin Chipper wrote:
And I can't see how watching it live would have made any real difference.

Well, I can tell you it did, because although I suspected at first that the gremlins were part of it, when they started showing A Quiet Night In I decided that something had definitely gone wrong.

OK - I can see that some viewers might have been fooled by the early part of it, and I wouldn't criticise that part of the show. Although, you'd have to question fitting a different episode into the schedule at that point when all that time had passed. But just looking at the iPlayer again now, everything from 10:50 onwards was ridiculous, and its length was 32:10.

I mean, I don't think it's that clever on its own to fool viewers into thinking that there's a technical fault. It's a reasonable opener, but that's all it is. The show needed more than that, but it didn't deliver. Even aside from the "spooky" stuff, how many viewers actually thought Pemberton and Shearsmith were talking to each other oblivious to the fact that they were on TV and thought it was anything other than acting?

Also, for every programme, there's always going to be some random casual viewers that don't really know the programme and might be at risk of changing channels anyway. How many regular Inside No 9 viewers turned off? I doubt it was anywhere near a fifth. Maybe not even a fiftieth.

this episode was basically just incoherent noise from the derailing of the series 1 episode onwards. It was just silly and there was nothing there to "believe" anyway.

I agree that once we realised what had happened in the first ten minutes was intentional and that what we were watching was all scripted, suspension of disbelief was no longer in play. But to call the story that subsequently played out "incoherent noise" is mind-boggling. It was perhaps difficult to make full sense of the narrative while it was going on, but by the end the pieces of the jigsaw all slotted into place. The clip from The One Show even gave the "ghosts" their motive, and the looped final scene from A Quiet Night In was their parting warning to us.

The way the programme used a combination of genuine archive footage and fake news stories to create a backstory of the Granada site being haunted was clever enough, but the use of material seeded in the media in the couple of weeks before the episode was exceptionally bold. All in all, this was a major TV event and as such I've enjoyed thinking about it and discussing it in the days since as much as watching it on the night.

this episode was basically just incoherent noise from the derailing of the series 1 episode onwards. It was just silly and there was nothing there to "believe" anyway.

I agree that once we realised what had happened in the first ten minutes was intentional and that what we were watching was all scripted, suspension of disbelief was no longer in play. But to call the story that subsequently played out "incoherent noise" is mind-boggling. It was perhaps difficult to make full sense of the narrative while it was going on, but by the end the pieces of the jigsaw all slotted into place. The clip from The One Show even gave the "ghosts" their motive, and the looped final scene from A Quiet Night In was their parting warning to us.

The way the programme used a combination of genuine archive footage and fake news stories to create a backstory of the Granada site being haunted was clever enough, but the use of material seeded in the media in the couple of weeks before the episode was exceptionally bold. All in all, this was a major TV event and as such I've enjoyed thinking about it and discussing it in the days since as much as watching it on the night.

I'm going to watch it again and see if I can be more generous about it.

Inside No. 9 really is tremendous, isn't it? Really glad there's going to be another series. I've enjoyed every episode in one way or another but as Marc has said, "The Twelve Days Of Christine" is the real standout, probably the best half hour of television I've ever seen (and I've been watching TV a long time). I don't think any television programme has ever had such a profound effect on me, I was in absolute bits by the end, crying my eyes out, a bit pathetic really (I'm glad I was on my own when I watched it the first time). I watched it a second time to try to spot all the clues that were in there and I think that was a mistake, because I was even worse when I knew how stuff would tie into the ending. I don't think I could bear to watch it again but I would strongly recommend anyone who hasn't seen it to check it out.

Inside No. 9 really is tremendous, isn't it? Really glad there's going to be another series. I've enjoyed every episode in one way or another but as Marc has said, "The Twelve Days Of Christine" is the real standout, probably the best half hour of television I've ever seen (and I've been watching TV a long time). I don't think any television programme has ever had such a profound effect on me, I was in absolute bits by the end, crying my eyes out, a bit pathetic really (I'm glad I was on my own when I watched it the first time). I watched it a second time to try to spot all the clues that were in there and I think that was a mistake, because I was even worse when I knew how stuff would tie into the ending. I don't think I could bear to watch it again but I would strongly recommend anyone who hasn't seen it to check it out.

Let's hope your endorsement carries more sway .
It is the best half hour of TV this century for sure.
It's the only thing I've ever bought on Google play.
I've always thought it would make a brilliant play or feature film.
Anyone able to contact Reece or Steve

Inside No. 9 really is tremendous, isn't it? Really glad there's going to be another series. I've enjoyed every episode in one way or another but as Marc has said, "The Twelve Days Of Christine" is the real standout, probably the best half hour of television I've ever seen (and I've been watching TV a long time). I don't think any television programme has ever had such a profound effect on me, I was in absolute bits by the end, crying my eyes out, a bit pathetic really (I'm glad I was on my own when I watched it the first time). I watched it a second time to try to spot all the clues that were in there and I think that was a mistake, because I was even worse when I knew how stuff would tie into the ending. I don't think I could bear to watch it again but I would strongly recommend anyone who hasn't seen it to check it out.

I've actually watched it quite a number of times now and it makes me cry every time. I have to watch it on my own though as my other half was so upset by it the first time that he couldn't even watch it twice. There are so many, many clues to the ending and yet none of them seems forced or gratuitous. One of those rare occasions when writing, performances, direction, design, everything works together perfectly to create something unique and special.

The episode that I don't think I could bear to watch again, for very different reasons, is The Harrowing from series 1. Brilliantly done but genuinely disturbing.

I found Diddle Diddle Dumpling
Season three, I think , the most difficult to watch.
Reece Sheersmiths decent into deep depression and insanity almost unbearable to watch, if only for the feeling of ' but for the grace of God '.
Probably not one I will be watching much when I get the box set for Christmas.( If my partner has taken the hint )

The episode that I don't think I could bear to watch again, for very different reasons, is The Harrowing from series 1. Brilliantly done but genuinely disturbing.

And had some really funny lines: "It's just like giving birth...but in reverse!" etc. But yeah, that ending was a bit much, wouldn't like to watch it before going to bed.

One of my other favourites that doesn't seem to get much love online is "Once Removed", which I think is one of the more brutal ones but still has more laugh-out-loud moments than pretty much any conventional sitcom (especially all the Andrew Lloyd-Webber stuff, which absolutely cracked me up). Possibly only "The Trial Of Elizabeth Gadge" has more out-and-out laughs. And "The Devil Of Christmas" is pretty amazing for perfectly emulating a 1970s teleplay (until right at the end, of course). But I could say something positive about all of them, really.